Google Alerts is a free service provided by Google to track multiple media outlets: news, blogs, discussions, even YouTube videos and Twitter feeds. Google Alerts can be used in many ways by small businesses and entrepreneurs to monitor the web for critical, relevant news.

According to Clate Mask and Scott Martineau in their recently-published book, Conquer the Chaos: How to grow a successful small business without going crazy, chaos is an inherent part of small business life. The question, they suggest, is how you will deal with it – accept it, fight it, or conquer it. Conquering it sounds best of course.